Did you know that 78% of former NHL players go bankrupt within five years of retiring? NBA players do slightly better, but not by much - about 68% are broke five years after their last game. | That's kind of shocking, right? These guys often make more in one season than most of us will earn in our entire lives. So what's going on? |  | First up: overspending. When you're used to private jets, luxury cars, and five-star everything, it's really hard to switch back to a "normal" lifestyle. A lot of players keep spending like the money will never stop coming. | Second: short careers. For most pro athletes, the big money only lasts about 3.5 to 5.5 years, depending on the league. If they don't save aggressively during that short window, they're in trouble later. | Thirdly: a lack of financial literacy. This manifests itself, among other things, in imitating the lifestyles of the very wealthy. Unfortunately,they master the spending part but forget the most important skill rich people have: knowing how to make money grow. Wealthy people usually spend years learning how finance actually works. | Fourth: bad investments. Think oversized mansions and "can't-miss" private deals that promise quick returns. These often turn out to be anything but smart. | And fifth: terrible financial advisors. When asked about their finances, many players say something like, "I have no idea - someone else handles it." According to the NFL Players Association, 78 hockey players lost $42 million between 1999 and 2002 because of bad financial advisors. | When we read stories like this, it's tempting to think, "What idiots! How could anyone blow that much money?" But let's be honest - most of us aren't exactly financial geniuses either. If you suddenly got a massive pile of cash, would you really handle it well? | There's an interesting theory I once heard: if all the money in the world were taken away, pooled together, and then evenly redistributed, things would look equal for a very short time. Within a couple of years, the same people would be rich again - and the same people would be broke. It's impossible to prove, of course, but stories like these make it sound pretty believable. |  | And it's not just NHL and NBA players. Former English Premier League footballers face the same problem. Around three out of five go broke within five years of retirement. The reasons? Wild spending, awful advisors, expensive divorces. Considering many of them earn £120,000 a month ($160,000), losing it all is… impressive, in the worst way. Paul Gascoigne is a well-known example - after retiring, he lost everything due to alcohol and addiction issues. |  | Then there are lottery winners. You've probably seen the stat floating around: about 70% of lottery winners end up worse off financially a few years later. Whether the exact number is right or not, the pattern is real. Sudden money hits people who aren't prepared for it. They buy huge houses, flashy cars, and boats they don't need. Old friends and distant relatives suddenly reappear. Addictions show up. Relationships fall apart. | One famous case is Michael Carroll, a garbage collector who won £9.7 million (approximately 13 million dollars) in 2002. Within a few years, it was all gone - spent on gambling, drugs, parties, cars, and pretty much everything you'd expect. | The odds of winning the lottery are 1 in 13,983,816, or 0.0000072%. There are probably more interesting ways to spend the money you put toward lottery tickets. But if you ever decide to buy a ticket and end up winning several million dollars, remember basketball players, hockey players, soccer players, and lottery winners - and keep three simple rules in mind: | Spend less than you earn. You are your most important financial advisor. Knowledge is 20% of success – the rest is common sense. |
|
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar